7 Ways To Improve Your Poker Preflop Strategy

 7 Ways To Improve Your Poker Preflop Strategy

1. Planning your strategy ahead

It's said that failing to plan is making a mistake. This also applies to poker. As a player, you need to have a clear understanding of your actions. A loose plan or no plan can reduce your chances of winning.

It's important to be able to predict what hands you will open-raise when you are folded from any position. You also need to know what hands your raise - or should it be limp?, and which range of hands that you'll continue when the person in front raises. Don't fall.

It is very dangerous to openly limp in preflop.

It is when you call for the big blind. It's passive and won't let you win the pot right away. You can call to claim the pot, but the money is already in the pot from both the small and large blinds.

Open limping will also put other players behind you at a disadvantage and will make their lives much easier. They'll feel encouraged to call (or raise), and play the pot against the weaker players if they have a larger blind.

You may also be subject to aggression by the players who play after you. They could exploit your weak range or increase the value.

Even if your weak hands are used to balance your limp, this will result in a lower expected return. Preflop, you might try to get the most value out of your strong hands.

3. Play your strong hand passively

One of the most common errors in low stakes games is passive playing.

Always take advantage of your financial strength and place as much money in order to extract the maximum value.

You should also make sure that your opponent holds a strong hand. If this is the case, you should increase the pot to extract the maximum value. You can also fold if your opponent has nothing. In that case, just move on to next round and forget about the hand. If your opponent doesn't have anything, you can do absolutely nothing.

Don't forget, a lost opportunity is when you fail to place a bet with strong hands.

4. Always take into account your position and range.

The range of hands that you're willing and able to play should be determined by the position of each hand. You'll then be able to evaluate the relationship between your range and position.

You should have a narrower range if there are more people behind you to act. Because of the greater chance to face a strong hand, there is more time to act. It is possible to lose your range and be easily exploited if you are opening too far in the first positions. Instead, increase your range when you reach the button closer.

5. Attack the weaknesses of your opponent

The hand strength of a player is usually the deciding factor. Watching how your opponents play can give you clues about whether they have strong or weak hands.

Playing passively such as calling and checking could lead to a weak hand that makes it tempting to go on the next street. This is also true if someone doesn't put in enough money and decides to fold rather than commit to too many chips.

These are the things that will help you make a decision about your next move.

6. The Button should not be too flat.

A common error made by players is not being flat enough. This is because they tend to fold the button too often. You may find it more reasonable to take a flop with many hands, if the price is right.

This strategy is especially helpful for live poker. Live players rarely play aggressively from the blinds.

7. The big blind is too large.

Many players may feel too tight in the big blind. They might not be able to call enough, especially in versus opens.

You may find yourself playing looser at the big blind if you are the last person to act pre-flop. Improve Your Poker Game Through Post-Flop Play